


Sweet like Honey Sting like a Bee

by elaramalfoynott1601



Category: Rookie Blue
Genre: 15 Division, Chaos, F/F, F/M, Fake It Till You Make It, Jewish family, Kids, Love, M/M, Marriage, Multiple Pairings, Other, Real Life, break-up, messy love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:01:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25608562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elaramalfoynott1601/pseuds/elaramalfoynott1601
Summary: Swarek is already married and a family man, but a rocky road ensures when he continues to run off undercover; Oliver’s marriage is ruined, but can he find happiness again with a certain blonde rookie, with a tongue that could slash like a lock-knife?*Story originally posted of FF.net!The outcome of this fic is not Holly/ Gail orientated, sorry to disappoint!
Relationships: Chris Diaz/ Nick Collins, Dov Epstein/ Chloe Price, Gail Peck/Holly Stewart, Jerry Barber/Traci Nash, Luke Callaghan/ Jo Rosati, Luke Callaghan/ Original Female Character(s), Luke Callaghan/Gail Peck, Marlo Cruz/ Oliver Shaw, Marlo Cruz/Sam Swarek, OFC/ Luke Callaghan, Oliver Shaw/ Gail Peck, Oliver Shaw/ Zoe Shaw, Sam Swarek/ OFC, Sam Swarek/ Original Female Character(s), Steve Peck/ Traci Nash
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Rocky Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Hey guys! I don't own anything from RB other than my OC's... Also, Andy doesn't exist in this take of RB, nothing against her, in fact I think she's one of the only female leading characters in a drama tv show that I've ended up not disliking. And I probably would have loved to use her in this fic, but I really struggle to write her.. anyways lets get to it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new take of Fresh Paint, I hope i do it justice... Life is proven difficult for Deborah, with no husband, kids, work and now a new Rookie to train, could it just push her to breaking point?

**Chapter One - Rocky Beginnings**

The piercing sound of her alarm was what woke her from her restless sleep, _6am_ , enough time to get the kids up, ready, lunches sorted and off to school before she headed to work. Being a single-mom, technically, was hard. Really, really hard with four kids, with three of them being teenagers and one under ten, her eldest was the only one that was out of school and working. Eight months since her husband had disappeared, clearly away undercover, and no sign of him returning home anytime soon.

She groaned, rolling out of bed and heading for a shower before getting the kids up. She was lucky both schools that they attended had morning clubs, allowing her to get to work on time. Her shower was quick, getting out and towelling off her body, with another one wrapped around her long hair. She re-entered her room, getting dressed before drying her hair. By the time she was done she heard Zeke leaving for work, trying to not wake his siblings as he made his way down the creaky stairs leading from his room in the converted attic. With him out the house, it only left Leah, Zach and Jamie in the house with her, unaware of the rude awakening from their mom they were about to face.

Having woken them up, she left them to get themselves ready for the day while she made her way to the kitchen to prepare some coffee and breakfast for the kids. Zach appeared first, nothing new, grabbing some of the toast that his mom was buttering for them. Sitting on one of the bar stools facing her while she worked, he pulled out on of his school text books.

"What are you doing Zachary, I thought you had finished all your homework?"

"Relax mom! It's all done, I'm just prepping for this presentation… I'm a bit nervous."

He attempted to give a half smile in return of her sympathetic one,

"I'm sure you'll be fine sweetheart." She dragged her fingers through his unruly curly hair in attempt to give him some comfort. At that moment Leah finally made an appearance, looking as grumpy as ever. Hormones, missing her dad and a bad breakup had all rolled into one with Leah, leaving a rage filled, shell of a girl. Debbie was really struggling on what she could do to help her daughter, they were once so close. She kept attempting to push Leah to talk to her, allow her to help, but she was getting nowhere. She had even stopped argue with Leah in the school mornings where she would opt to have coffee and watch the news in the other room, instead of eating something more substantial with her family.

Jamie, the youngest, was always last to arrive in the morning for breakfast. He was chatting away, not a care in the world, still a bit too young to be fully empathetic with all the emotions in the house. He was too busy discussing what Go-Go figures he was going to take with him to trade at school that day. Not even stopping his chatter while eating his cereal, and with his bother continuously telling him to "Shut Up!", resulting in Debbie saying it right back to him. It was nice having someone in the house that was clearly just getting on with life. It didn't mean that little Jamie wasn't driving her 'round the bend, in fact she didn't get a minute's peace until she was in the car on her way to work, after Leah and Zach taking off in her car and Jamie getting on the school bus.

Her thoughts finally catching up with her, Debbie started to pounder her upcoming day while stuck in the busy Toronto rush hour traffic. _Great_ , her pondering had made her realise that today was the day of the new rotation, with all brand spanking new rookies. Being a training officer was just the icing on the cake for the way life was going at the moment.

Arriving at work, she was the first person there of their shift, allowing her time to grab another coffee and get into her uniform without much rush. She hated this part of the day, the stress of life was clearly starting to get to her, and her fitted uniform was making her more and more aware how much weight she was beginning to lose. Huffing she tucked her loosening shirt into her pants, tightening her belt all the way to the last available hole, questioning if she should rake out her pocket-knife and make a new one. _No, better not…_ Time was moving on, and with the amount of overtime Noelle was doing lately she was surely to be in soon, no need to draw attention towards anything that would make her question if she was looking after herself, she'd sort it at home tonight.

Making her way back into the bullpen Debbie sat the usual desks that her and Oliver tended to commandeer to complete their paperwork. getting lost and catching up with her notes from the last shift and submitting the reports for the D's she didn't notice Oliver sitting beside her until the slamming of the coffee cup hitting the desk. she jumped, averting her gaze from the computer in front of her to Shaw, her face was a picture.

"Oh, now didn't you wake up on the wrong side of the bed."

" I'm not in the mood today Shaw."

" hey, hey I'm sorry I didn't realise you're having a bad day. what's up?"

" oh, you know the usual. Four kids, no husband, full time job that takes up more of my life than it should, and just trying to make ends meet, and somehow I'm still the bad guy."

"Huh, you as well. Its not going well with me and Zoe either, in fact she kicked me out last night."

She immediately felt guilty, as per she was too wrapped up in her own shitty life that she didn't real that Oliver was also having a hard time.

" look Oliver, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that I have been so self centred the last few months didn't realise you needed someone there as much as I do as well. Listen, let me make it up to you. we still have the fitted apartment above a garage, why don't you live in there until you can find a decent apartment or house. it's got a room on bathroom even a small kitchenette, we had it fitted for... for his mom when she came to visit, she preferred at times to live apart from us of sorts, it helps keep the peace, especially when perhaps I wasn't cooking completely kosher."

That drew a laugh from Oliver, it was good to see him look even slightly happy and now that she thought about it she had not actually seen him smile properly in weeks.

"Thanks Deb, I might just take you up on that offer and listen I can help out with the kids and anyway you need this can't be easy for them either."

They shared a sad smile, looking at the clock available on the the computer in front of her she gave a sigh she knew they had to get a move on or Boyko would throw them behind a desk for the day.

They made their way into parade, they could see the new rookies front and centre, with Boyko waiting for the rest of his senior officers to arrive. They both grabbed seats at the back, sitting in the low filling cabinets, leaving back against the windows.

When Boyko was satisfied that everyone was here, he started his usual lecture reserved for new recruits. Looking over the for newbies, that stood out with their long-sleeved shirts, Debbie recognised the blonde-haired woman that appeared the least stressed about being new to the job.

Debbie frowned, her and Gail were actually pretty good friends, her mother had been her training officer and partner for a brief stint before excelling right up the chain of command. It was apparent that Gail was a bit older and more mature than the other rookies, which didn't surprise Debbie. Gail had gone on for years about seeing the world and getting away from her parents and brother's legacy before being nailed to a job until near death. What unsettled her most was that she hadn't said to her that she had finally joined the academy or that she was spending her rookie rotation at 15.

Mind you Debbie knew she couldn't judge, with everything going on she hadn't exactly been the best sort of friend, something she most definitely was not proud of. She shook her head, zoning back into what Boyko was saying.

"... and Frank Best is your road sergeant, he'll be responsible for being liaison out there on the job and back here with me, keeping you all in line. Right, partners...

"Dov Epstein, you'll be trying out in booking today; Chris Diaz you'll be riding with Shaw; Traci Nash you're with Williams; and Gail Peck, you'll be riding with Swarek."

 _Fuck!_ Was all Debbie could think. She knew that she would need to deal with Gail at some point, but out on the road while trying to train her was not the best time. Elaine must have played a part in this, probably making sure that the Peck teachings were passed down to her only daughter. Her internal breakdown was interrupted with Gail standing in front of her.

"Ehm, Hey?"

Clearing her throat, standing, thinking it's best to be professional for now,

"Right Peck let's get out on the road; the streets aren't going to clean up themselves."

Dashing away ahead of her to grab her gun and go bag, she made her way out to her cruiser. Debbie was lucky in a way, she tended to get the same cruiser and only really shared with Mandy on the other shift. Both of them were pretty short, both under 5'2", so to save the hassle for everyone, the tended to keep 1516 just for them.

Slipping into the driver's seat, she lowered her window. The hot summer sun was starting to split the clouds, there definitely would be some craziness happening today. She was drawn out of her thoughts with a slapping sound from her windscreen. Looking up, there was a long, slimy pickle sliding its way down the window.

"SHAW!"

She could hear the laugh of Oliver two cars down, he clearly hadn't intended to hit it or believed he actually could with how hilarious he was finding the situation. Getting out before the slime made it even more difficult to see out the window, she removed it. Peck arrived just as she had turned back from throwing the pickle at Shaw's own cruiser, and new bout of giggles erupted from him, and many colourful words left Debbie's mouth as she missed.

Turning back, she noticed Gail just standing, telling her to "get in" she popped the boot so she could put her go bag with her own. She was fuming now with everything going on, she'd maybe need to talk to Boyko, maybe a few shifts with set hours behind a desk were needed to try and chill her out a bit. Or at least enough for her to gain back the excitement at the prospect of her job again.

Gail was settled in, not even turning to talk to her, she just set off. They sat in silence for a good ten minutes, both lost in thought, both unsure where to start. Surprising the two of them though, it was Gail that got the ball rolling,

"So, where's Sam at? I thought you both worked out of 15. Not that you have ever actually introduced me to him, I don't think I'd ever be able to pick him out of a line up if I needed to."

There was a snideness to her words. Gail has always begrudged that Debbie had always been a good friend but did tend to keep her at arm's length, hell she had only met one of her kids, and it was pure chance of bumping into each other at the supermarket.

Debbie grimaced, she always felt bad she kept Gail apart from her life. But in all honest she just didn't want Elaine getting involved in her life, or Gail accidentally letting something slip and meaning someone in 15 getting in bother for bending the rules slightly. Their friendship consisted of phone calls, drinks in bars outside of 15 divisions area and the occasion email when Gail was out the country.

But the words that cut the deepest was the mention of Sam not being there. Everything was really starting to pile up, it all becoming far too much she really wondered if she'd get through today. She'd maybe phone Frank, she'd maybe manage to pass Gail off to him, the excuse of not being in the right frame of mind to watch a rookie's back nevermind her own. Not that it was a lie, if she didn't start to focus, they both definitely might end up dead or worse.

She was saved by dispatch, Thank god!

"All units respond, shots fired 306 Dunn, officers on the scene."

"Well, mark us and light 'em up Peck."

With those sharp words, Debbie put her foot down, peeling down the street to god only knows what.


	2. Here Comes Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam returns... uh oh

They arrived on scene at the same time as Noelle and Traci, all four made their way into the building, clearing it as they went before making it to the apartment that Oliver and his rookie were in. Guns drawn, the rookie's fear of the first day was starting to show, they both clearly thought it would be an easy first shift and that the academy had taught them everything they needed to know, _Boyko did warn them_ , Debbie shook her head at the thought. There were more important issues at hand.

Entering the apartment, Oliver was in another room with the body of the guy that had been shot, his rookie on the floor beside a clear OD. His name tag said Diaz, and by the looks of things, he looked like he was actually praying. Debbie sighed, holstering her gun, she tried not to show on her face that the rookie had managed to pull at her heartstrings. Ever new rookie made her more and more aware on how desensitised her, and all the other cops she worked with, had become toward junkies, gangs, and shootings. Catching Noelle and Oliver looking at him as well, they were clearly having similar thoughts.

EMS barged into the room, Diaz explained that he had performed CPR on the kid, everyone shared a groan of disgust, but it soon turned to amusement at the shocked look on his face at how quickly the girl awoke with the shot of adrenaline in her neck. After the shock wore off, Diaz made his way over to where Frank had made an appearance, where he was talking to the blonde witness, clearly trying to cut a deal.

"Nash, the rest of the building still needs to be cleared," Noelle cut her gaze from the rookie to look at Debbie, "If it's alright with Officer Swarek, Peck will help you search the upper floors."

Debbie only replied with a nod, thinking there wasn’t much trouble the pair could get into. She let the rookies leave before making her way over to Shaw and Williams.

"Look guys, I don't think I'm fit to be out on the beat... I'm gonna speak to Frank about going back to the barn, maybe a shift or two in booking will straighten my head out... I'm more of a liability than a help at the moment."

They looked at her with sad eyes, but both were grateful that their friend was starting to realise that she was struggling, it was the best way for her to get some help. Shaw gave her a small smile, and with a pat on the arm he nudged her towards Frank.

Best took her decision well, even though it was a time for shitty marriages with his wife giving him divorce papers just the night before, he understood that a cop with their mind not on the job was a disaster waiting to happen. He agreed to take Diaz off of Oliver's hands, so he could take over for her and train Peck for the rest of the shift and that he'd call Boyko when she was en route back to the station so he wasn't surprised to see her. The ride back to the station was peaceful, like the calm before the storm, but booking was always a drag, she was getting far too paranoid for her own liking.

* * *

The bullpen was pretty quiet, everyone clearly out on the field, she waved up to Boyko in his office, she got an off-handed one back as he continued to talk on the phone. She made her way to booking to meet with the last rookie on this rotation, a fresh cup of coffee in one hand, and freshly printed forms under her arm, she buzzed herself in.

She walked into the baby-faced rookie Epstein removing a pair of latex gloves in slight disgust. The officer behind the desk looked on quite smug, and as soon as he noticed her he smirked, rose from his seat and left through the door that she had entered through, a parting "have fun" was all he left her with. A roll of her eyes she figured she should get the introductions out the way,

"You must be Epstein, I swear you lot get younger every year."

He looked up in shock, clearly he hadn't heard her enter. Wide eyed, he just stared at her open mouthed.

"Relax Epstein, I don't bite...much. I'm just kidding okay, come on, come sit. I'll catch you up on all the shenanigans that the other rookies have already managed to get up to."

The kid hadn't spoke a word to her yet but she already got the impression that she'd end up with a soft spot for him, he reminded her too much of her sons Zeke and Zach. Finally making a move, Epstein took a perch on the seat that was free next to her own. She was right, after he got over his shy-ness they got on like a house on fire, she felt more at ease being back at the station and his goofiness helped her forget her troubles.

They were brought out of their conversation with Jerry coming through the door, he had heard on the radio that there was suspects being brought in by Shaw and a rookie. As he got comfortable on the edge of the desk, they heard the garage door open. Epstein was out of his chair like a shot, making his way to the door, opening it to help bring in the suspects. Jerry and Debbie shared an eye-roll at how eager he was. They could hear Shaw telling the poor guy that they didn't need help, that they could manage without him.

They all shuffled into the room, both Debbie and Jerry stood as they entered. After Dov had backed up, they could see that Peck was in first with her scruffy looking suspect, _definitely a junkie_ she had to admit that her over-eager rookie may have actually hit the jackpot, as much as the building they had attended was known for being a hole, junkie's liked to get loose lipped if it meant that they could get back out on the street quicker, he was bound to know something. Peck looked quite smug, probably having used the Elaine Peck mantra of _"90% luck, 10% timing",_ god she hated that saying, there was so much truth in it but it was always a kick in the teeth when it happened for someone else, maybe someone that wasn't always as hard working as others.

_There I go again, I really need to focus!_

Zoning back into what was unfolding before her, she watched as Barber made his was forward with his arms open wide, with a loud "Heyyy" already left his lips. She couldn't see past him to see what perp Jerry knew personally, _no wonder people think cops are corrupt!_ It was the next words out his mouth that shook her to her core.

"Sammy, its been a long time brother."

There was no reply from anyone, the silence that met him made Jerry realise he had made a mistake.

"I-I mean since I last put you away."

He had drew back by now, but she could still only see the top of Sam’s head, he was looking at the ground while he tried to salvage the situation.

Unfortunately, the other suspect was a lot quicker that he looked, there was a unison uproar from the guy and Peck of "you're a cop?!", while Jerry and Oliver began to argue.

It was all getting too much, she couldn't believe he was here, _after eight whole fucking months of nothing!_ The sleepless nights, tantrums from the kids, no one to come home to after a long day at work, who at least understood what it was like to see the horrors that only cops tended to see. The shouting was the last straw, she had to stop it the only way she knew how,

"SHUT IT!" The roar of her voice was enough to shock them all into silence, with every eye now on her, including her husband who appeared to have only just realised that she was there.

"Epstein, I need you to book this perp, I'll call Richards back in here to supervise. Shaw get him,” pointing at Sam, “out of those cuffs, and we'll all head up to Boyko's office... we're going to have to get him to break it to Boyd, I'm sure as hell not doing it."

The commanding tone of her voice got them moving instantaneously, Barber stuck his head back out the door to the bullpen, calling Richards back in, when he seen what had clearly transpired, he just gave a low whistle and a shake of his head. He got a various reply of sighs and a "yeah, yeah we know" from Oliver.

Peck had gotten as quiet as a mouse since she released what had happened, she was the one looking at the floor now. Debbie felt for her, she was just trying to do her job. Peck had began to follow the crowd out the door, Debbie followed up behind her, and as much as she didn't want her to be in trouble she was grateful in a twisted way knowing Sam was finally back. She knew it was wrong... but she also knew that Peck needed someone in her corner right now.

She caught up with her estranged friend, putting an arm around her shoulders she gave a slight squeeze, she knew Sam wasn’t happy right now and would be even more angry when he realised that his own wife would be defending the rookie that took him down but she couldn't care less after the hell he had put her through over the last few months.

* * *

Sam, Jerry and Oliver has already entered Boyko’s office just as the two women had reached the landing. Through the glass they could see that the sarge looked briefly shocked to see Swarek, but continued to lounge behind his desk, the usual unreadable, uninterested look upon his face.

Sam has already began to rant to the whole room when they slinked into the office. Debbie has dropped her arm from around Gail, but still walked her over to where she could sit in front of Boyko’s desk. She stay with her however, standing guard of sort, daring Sam to start, itching for a fight after what he had done. The Sarge looked between the two blondes directly in front of him, giving a silent sigh, he knew this was not going to end well.

“What I don’t understand, is why the hell a rookie is rockin’ about clearing a scene on her own! No T.O. Insight?!”

“I know, I know Sammy, but it all got a bit stressful back there, there was so much going on and we were short in numbers.”

Deb looked down, guilt seeping through her anger, she could feel all eyes on her, with the exception of her husband. He was too busy staring a hole into Oliver’s skull, not believing, or more like not _wanting_ to believe his excuse.

“What the do you mean you were short?! It’s one rookie to every T.O., surely they’re not that unruly this time round that you can’t handle some princess that’s bit off too much than she can chew in this job?”

Oliver jaw set, it wasn’t often that he got angry, but when he did you knew there was due reason,

“Look Sam, Peck here was _your_ wife’s rookie, but Debbie had to come back to the barn. Best and all of us agreed for a quick swap around to try and make the best of a sticky situation. Yeah, she shouldn’t have been on her own, but her radio not being on and the fact you and your caller were still stickin’ around at a goddamn crime scene didn’t exactly help. She was doing her job, like she was instructed!”

Everyone was silent after Shaw shots at Sam, both men were breathing heavily, very rarely did they not get on, Sam was too aloof and Oliver too much of a good guy for it to be possible. Jerry was leaving back against the wall between the two, eyes bouncing back and forth, trying to gauge if he needed to intervene. But he had no reason to worry, because Swarek decided that he wouldn’t get a decent reaction out of Shaw, he decided to whirl round and started outright laying the verbal punches on the new rookie.

“What does he mean your radio was off?! Don’t they teaching you this shit in the academy any-“

“HEY, hey, don’t you fuckin’ start on her ‘cause you made a bad decision, it is NOT her fault!”

The interruption from Debbie cause Sam to look flabbergasted. Mouth open he looked on in shock as Deborah stood as tall as she could, arms crossed and she watched over her rookie like a mamma bear protecting her cub. The deep frown set on her brow told Swarek everything he needed to know, if he started she would give him hell, and quite frankly he knew she definitely had more of a leg to stand on in an argument than he did. Deciding the best course of action right then would be to leave, but not with a parting sarcastic statement aimed at the rookie before storming out of the busy office, emotions still running high but he knew his wife well. Once she started, there was no way he was leaving that office with out her ripping him a new asshole first.


	3. Breaking Point?

Peck had stormed out not long after Swarek, both headed in the direction of the lockerooms, every occupant of the office hoped the blonde had went straight to the female one instead of following the man that was currently like a raging bull.

Deborah threw herself down in the chair that Gail had left vacant. Slouching, eyes closed while giving her forehead a rub she knew that she needed to take responsibility here, for everyone's sake. Opening her eyes she sat up straight as she addressed Boyko,

"Look sarge, this is my fault, I take responsibility for the complete mess today. On a whole Peck did everything right other than her radio, if I hadn't abandoned ship this could have probably been avoided."

The other occupants of the room were silent and Boyko looked mildly more interested now. Clearly weighing up his response to one of his best officers who was just having a really hard time of it.

"I appreciate what you're saying Officer Swarek, and yeah it possible could have been avoided, however at the end of the day Sergent Best and myself did give the "O.K." To come back... Shaw you also did the best you could, all we can do is learn from it.

"Right, this is what we're going to do. I'm going to contact Boyd and tell him what's happened, Shaw you get back out there with Peck, it's still her first day, Barber you get the witness into interview 1, have a good go at him and keep in touch with Callaghan, he's already over at the scene. As for you Debbie, you're going to take Sammy home, because of the short notice there's no way his debriefing is going to happen today, Boyd will no doubt be on the phone to him at some point tonight to sort out something for tomorrow. But, I want you to take some personal time, doesn't have to be for long but just get your head where it needs to be, okay?"

There were murmurs of agreement, and as Boyko lifted the desk phone to make the call, they all shuffled out the room. Deborah made her way to the male locker room, getting only sympathetic smiles from Shaw and Barber, knowing it wasn't going to be easy.

As she turned into the left to enter the locker room she ran into Peck. _Oh shit, she's confronted him..._ She was concerned right away for the rookie, hoping any verbal shots from her husband wouldn't put her off on her first day.

"Peck, are you okay, he want too hard on you was he?"

"Ehm, no, not really... he gave me an idea of a possible new suspect though, I'm going to see if I can head back over to the scene... sort out my own mess."

Debbie appreciated her perseverance, and the responsibility she was taking to correct her mistake, a mistake that wasn't even really her fault.

"Oh thank god! Look I'm so sorry okay," she put a hand on her friend arm, "I shouldn't have left you... this is on me okay? Look you're riding with Oliver the rest of the day, he'll definitely take you back over there if you say to him."

Gail nodded, feeling slightly awkward, but still gave her a half smile back. She got a squeeze on her arm in return, and went on her way to find Shaw.

Deborah peaked her head into the male locker room to see if Sam was there, she couldn't see him but could hear one of the showers running. Deciding to quickly go into her own locker room and get changed back into her civilian clothes and grab her bag before waiting on Sam.

Ten minutes later she was sat off to the side of her husbands locker when she heard the shower turn off. She looked up from her hand that were in her lap as she heard the patter of wet feet on the tiled floor. Sam exited the washroom with a towel around his waist while towelling off his face and hair with another.

He stopped roughly a meter away from her and his locker when he noticed he wasn't alone. He threw the towel in his hand toward the large washing cart for used towels, folding his arms over his bare chest as he looked down at his wife. She squared her jaw as she mirrored him, her own arms folded, nails biting into her upper arms to help her keep her own attitude in check.

"What are you doing here? You're still on shift."

"Boyko sent me to take you home. I've to take "personal time."" She gave an eye roll, she knew it was for the best but he didn't need to know that. She received a jagged nod in return. He moved towards his locker, Debbie moved slightly out the way as his locker was pulled open roughly.

She looked away to give him privacy to get dressed. Unusual for husband and wife but at the moment, they were literally only that on paper, there was too much awkwardness and anger circulating the two.

Sam was lucky that Debbie had the sense to put a pair of jeans, his boots and a T-shirt in his locker while he was away, or he would have been going home in just a towel.

He was dressed rather quickly, the final thump of his boot hitting the floor after being propped up on the bench to be tied gave Deborah the indication that she could look at him again. He was looking at her expectingly, using his hand and raised eyebrow to say "lead the way" drew a huff and a stomp from her as she got up and made her way out to her truck.

They didn't run into anyone they were close to on their way out to the parking lot, they also didn't have to walk far to the metallic orange truck, Debbie has parked pretty close to the door that morning. She threw her bag into the bed of the truck before opening the door and pulling herself up into the drivers seat. Starting the engine, she didn't much care that Sam had to jog to keep up with her, and to make sure she didn't drive off without him. She was peeling out of the parking lot just as the passenger door shut, causing her to receive an astounded look from Sam, which she ignored. It took less time to get home than it did getting to work that morning, but the deadly silence between the two made the trip feel twice as long. No doubt they would be home only a short while before Boyd would be calling the landline to ask Sam what the hell actually happened. She shook her head at her pondering, she hated Boyd with a passion, she hated how he acted and she especially detest how he was able to fool everyone that he was a "good" guy, there was definitely something off about him.

Pulling into their large drive, it was clear none of the kids were home yet. Sam's own truck was parked within the double garage, they would have to come up with some sort of plan in order to be able to accommodate all the cars if Oliver was planning to stay above said garage. Neither made the move to leave the truck first, both fatigued with the anger they had felt earlier and both wondering where to go from here.

Debbie looked at the clock on her dashboard, it was just after lunch time, causing her to realise how hungry she actually was. Looking at her knees, she was fiddling with her keys in hand when she finally spoke in a quiet voice,

"So, are you hungry? I could make us a sandwich or somethin'?"

Sam wasn't looking at her either, but he was making an effort to keep a steady tone, to keep the peace and to make sure he didn't end up getting himself kicked out into the apartment above the garage for the foreseeable future.

"I could eat... I'll have whatever's goin'."

Deb only nodded, and with a sigh swing open the truck door and headed towards the house. They tended to use the side door, it was less of a walk from the drive and also meant that they only had to walk through the dinning room to enter the kitchen. Sam had grabbed both their bags, entering behind her once she unlocked the door and proceeding to drop them there, figuring they would get to them later.

He stopped where he was, taking a deep breath feeling a bit better already. He may not say it enough but he loved their house. It was complete chaos with a shitty layout with the amount of rebuilding they had to do at different times in their lives to fit four kids, and it was never the tidiest place, especially if he wasn't around, but it was home. It was warm, and inviting, and it always smelled of Deborah. He didn't understand how she did it, hell the woman barely ever had time to put perfume on, but she was everywhere and anywhere in this house. Shutting his eyes, he knew he had screwed up big time. He leaned back against the door, knocking his head off it as he thought back to the last time he had fucked up this bad.

He hated the memory but it was part of their story, it happened and they grew from it, he just hoped their relationship didn't go back to the way it was back then, when Zeke and Leah were just babies, the arguments, fights and separation were not good for anyone involved. And so many people got hurt in the process... he shook his head, _No!_ He would not let that happen again, he knew if they split again, that would be it, Deborah had warned him, every couple only get one break up. He always wondered if that was her own logic or if she got it from someone else, but he was not prepared to test the theory.

Pushing himself off the door he headed towards the kitchen where he could hear the chopping of some sort of vegetable. He bypassed all the piles of washing and ironing that he no doubt will be tackling to kiss some ass. entering the kitchen where Debbie's back was to him, he removed his jacket and slid onto one of the seats at the island table.

The air was really awkward, and he felt nervous just waiting for his food to be handed to him. There were piles of letters and school books sitting beside him, no doubt the latter belonged to Zach, the kid was a right little bookworm and was forever taken on huge workloads. It made him proud that he knew he was going somewhere with his life.

The pile of letters looked like a mixture of bills, school newsletter and payslips. There was a bunch bound with an elastic band unopened, no doubt the eight of them were his last lot of payslips. That's something else he'd tackle this week, he'd get the filing done before something went missing. It was nothing against Deborah, god the woman never stopped, it just wasn't high on her priorities after running after the kids all day long and having a career.

He zoned back in with a plate being put in front of him. He took it as a good sign that it was flung at him like a frisbee, and was even given with a glass of Coke. What surprised him further that his wife chose to sit right next to him, where she had begun to devour her food like she hadn't eaten in a year.

"Hungry, huh?"

"Yeah, I haven't eaten much today... I haven't been eating much in general lately, I suppose."

The caused a pang of guilt flash through Sam, knowing that he contributed to her lack of appetite. In fact now that he looked at her properly, she looked terribly thin, and pale. Clearly she'd been putting the house, family, work and their friends ahead of herself. She was the strongest woman that he knew, and he really figured that while he was away she would get on fine. But it was apparent that maybe she wasn't as independent as they both thought, he felt really, really shitty from the hell he had clearly put her through.

"So, the kids are at school?"

"Yeah well Zeke is at work, I'm not sure what time he's finishing today. Leah finally got her license, I bought Noelle's old car off her for her birthday from me... well us. So she has been taking Zach to school, and they get home before Ash, so someone is always home for him."

"Aw you got her a car then, I thought we were gonna hold off?"

Deb cracked her neck, trying to keep her cool.

"Yeah well that went out the window when I had to rely on our sixteen year old daughter for childcare Sam. Especially when her usual ride dumped her for her best friend."

"That little bastard dumped Leah?!"

She sighed in exasperation, she intended to hold off on telling him that part. She knew he didn't like the kid in the first place and him breaking his little girls heart was not going to help anything.

"Look, it was months ago, it's been dealt with chill out!"

"You want me to chill out, he hurt her, I'll kill him I swe-"

"Yeah well you broke her heart even more so if you're going to be pissed with anyone, start with yourself!" She cut him off with her sharp words. Sam just stared at her mouth open.

She knew it was a crappy shot, and as soon as she went to take it back, knowing that he would never intentionally hurt their kids, god not after his own parents way of treating him and Sarah. But before she could Sam had stood and began to walk away, heading straight upstairs with a shake of his head.

She began to follow him;

"Sam, Sam wait! I'm sorry okay, there was no need for tha-"

She was cut off with the slamming of the bedroom door. She has made it three-quarters of the way up the stairs but with the wall rattling bang collapsed with her elbows on her knees, rubbing her face trying to prevent the tears. She was beginning to lose hope now, that maybe they had had they chance, wasting it years ago with the time they spend apart that's seamed so pointless now.

She knew if she spoke to Gail that she would get told the good ol' "every couple has one break up". Rolling her eyes she knew that she couldn't let it happen, that she couldn't do that to her kids and that she couldn't do that to Sam. She would make this work, she had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been doing research about Toronto police pay and housing prices to get an accurate kinda feel of life over there because I'm Scottish myself. This is set around 2010 like the normal series and there was uproar about police constables being on 100,000 a year and that's without overtime... also, looking at decent sized houses (which you need with 4 kids and a friend living with you) is like approximately 1,400,000 soooo I'm just putting it out there that it's completely feasible for the Swarek's to have such a house, especially with Sam being undercover! I don't imagine anyone will pick up on it anyways but it was a thought I had the other day that was bothering me, so just incase anyone else was curious haha! Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this fic so far, I've got a lot of plans for it, but I'm in the process on making sure that I don't end up in a web with major plot holes and stuff! Please leave any thoughts you might have!


End file.
